Lost andd Found pt3
by auldtimer
Summary: Although I've put complete to me it is a complete episode, there are a few more to come on this story...if that's ok? Thanks again for making me so welcome, forgotten how much Ienjoy writing..and how much Iwish they'd repeat this show! lol


Chris looked up as she heard the elevator warning bell, the welcoming smile freezing on her lips, her jaw dropping open a fraction, as she heard the last bit of the conversation drift through the opening doors. "And I'm telling you to keep your hands to yourself Houston!"

"Uhm, morning CJ!" Chris stammered at the dark haired woman who had now hopped out of the lift towards her.

"Morning Chris" CJ replied with flash of her bright smile, "be a doll will ya and take these, ooh and coffee..coffee would be good"

CJ thrust a set of crutches at Chris who automatically reached out to take them, grimacing slightly as she felt something sticky on the edge. Her eyes widened with shock as she watched her friend hop quickly up the steps into the penthouse office, then by leaning a fraction to her right she continued to follow her friends journey across the room, her mouth dropped completely open as instead of hopping down the steps to the seating area, CJ put her hand on the back of the large couch and vaulted over, landing with a soft thud and letting out a little "yeehaw!" With a half quizzical look and a badly hidden smile Chris turned to a bemused looking Houston and Roy who were now both standing in the doorway of the office. "Houston? What did you do to her..? Is it the medication?"

Houston pursed his lips a fraction, walked up to her and whispered "Michealbachs" before starting to follow CJ into the lounge ..

"Michealbachs?" Chris muttered, "but a pastry doesn't do this to her!"

Houston shot a withering look in Roys direction before saying. "Well yeah Chris, but six do!" With a final look at Roy he walked across the room to sit next to CJ

"SIX!" Chris hissed as she turned to Roy

Roy just shrugged his shoulders and followed his nephew, stopping to turn to Chris and say "maybe hold off on that coffee...just for a little while huh?"

By the time he had sat down CJ had the computer up and running, blinds shut and a look of complete concentration as she quickly and gracefully typed the first request. "Ok" she said as the screen flashed up, "we have the passenger manifest" Her eyes crinkled up at the edges as she studied it before adding, "but it's odd. There are two extra names on there!"

Houston had not been looking at the screen at all, instead he had been sat studying CJ, it was the small frown on her face that made him pay more attention. "Well, uh, are you sure?"

She glanced sideways, before nodding vigorously. "I'm sure Houston. Plane that size you'd notice if they squeezed in another couple of passengers. I mean there was room, but you'd notice..**I** would've noticed. There were ten of us, and the pilot, so these here..Paul and Louise Cartwright, they weren't with us"

Roy nodded and jotted the names down in his trusty notebook. Computers were fine, but Roys whole career as a spy had hinged on detail, and notebooks! "So, they were either very lucky..or.."

"Or they knew something the others didn't" Houston finished for him. " 'k CJ, do we have a home address for the Cartwrights?"

"Uh huh..right here in LA, Beverley Hills to be exact" Her fingers flew across the keyboard. Houston watched as the tip of her tongue crept out of her mouth, his stomach flipped a little as he swallowed and wriggled in his seat. "Ok, here we go. Paul Cartwright" CJ continued, "commodities broker in New York moved to LA when he married Louise Vincenci, daughter of one Marco Vincenci, hotelier extrodanaire! Seems they were in the Bahamas on business, daddy is looking to expand his empire and Paul and Louise were on a property hunt"

"Did they buy?" Houston asked

CJ shook her head. "Nope, looks like they came back empty handed" Suddenly she looked over her shoulder, pouting slightly, "what d'you think is keeping Chris and my coffee?" Roy coughed slightly as Houston tried to look innocent and shrugged his shoulders. CJ narrowed her eyes and looked at them. "Huh!"

To distract her Houston asked "When did they get back to LA?"

"They didn't," she replied, "seems they flew from the Bahamas to Maldives, and from there they are due to fly to Mauritius..uh, then Hong Kong, Australia, Japan.."

"That's some property hunt!" Houston gave a low whistle as he studied the rest of the couples travel plans, "gonna be difficult to ask them any questions!"

"I'll go!" Roy volunteered with a chuckle

"Well, someone you can talk to is Marcus Pointer and his wife Marley. Now they WERE on the plane with me, in fact they were sitting just behind me. They got back to LA yesterday, although Marley is still in County Hospital, she broke both her legs and is gonna be in there a while. Marcus was discharged yesterday"

"Uh huh" Houston looked at her, checking to see her reaction, but CJ was in professional mode and just read out the facts, telling Houston the home address of the Pointers, their jobs and why they had been with her on that plane. Only when she had finished did he see a reaction, a slow deep breath and a few small swallows. Instinctively he reached over and stroked her hair, then bent towards her to plant a gentle kiss on her cheek. "It's ok," he whispered, "it's all ok." He saw from her half smile that this was difficult for her, so decided not to dig too deep on the other passengers until he had spoken to his first couple, instead he decided to look at how many other avenues of investigation Hoyt had sent. CJ quickly tapped a few more keys and Houston looked up in time to see the screen fill with options. "Okay," he read out loud, "so, we got the CTV from the airport, from the hotel and from the heliports. We got the provisional crash site reports, photos of the plane and the scattered wreckage, and a copy of the witness statements they've been able to take so far...including yours CJ"

CJ bit her bottom lip a fraction and reached for Houstons hand before asking, "Can we look at the plane, get it out of the way?"

Houston turned her face gently so she was looking straight at him. "You sure honey?" he whispered after studying her closely for a few seconds

She nodded quickly and her grip on his hand tightened. "I need to see this Houston"

Roy watched them both, his shrewd old eyes not missing a beat. His nephews hesitation, showing his need to protect the woman he loved..CJs need to confront what she had been through a step toward healing. He studied them as they stared at each other, finally giving a soft cough and making the decision for them. "I think we should have a look son, may give us some idea about who were dealing with." Houston turned to look at him, an eyebrow raised as Roy continued. "CJ said there were two helicopters, were they both firing at the plane? Was one watching and guiding the shooter targeting one person in particular or just bringing down the plane on the hope of success"

Houston thought about it for a while, then glanced at CJ before nodding. As she typed the necessary instructions Houston moved closer to her, their thighs touching, his hand now resting in the small of her back. She set the first photos to slideshow, all three of them leaning forward, their faces set deep in concentration, the only sound a soft click as the screens moved forward. As the last of the first set flashed up Baby gave a soft beep before flashing back to the beginning. It was Roy who broke the silence. "So, now we know a bit more. Who ever did this meant knew their business, they knew their planes, they were determined to get that bird out of the sky...and they had access to some serious artillery!"

CJ looked at him, her eyebrow raised a fraction, silently asking him to explain.

Roy leant forward and selected four photographs, baby displayed them on the one screen. He pointed at the first picture and said "See here, on this side of the plane. the bullets are concentrated in this area..that's the hydraulics point..and here, " he pointed to the next slide, "on this side, they targeted mainly at the back..the rudder controls..for good measure, this next photo shows they went for the pilot, they knew the plane and they knew the weak points, failing that, take out the pilot and they couldn't fail!"

"Didn't count on CJ!" Houston said proudly, giving her a slow sexy smile. "Oh..but how do you get that they have serious artillery?"

"Easy!" Roy chuckled, "the bullets hit their target! If they hadn't been armour piercing then we would just be looking at a couple of holes, maybe a few dents..the weak points of the plane are also the ones that have the thickest metal around them, toughened glass on the cockpit to! Nope, looking at the photos, those bullets went through that plane like a hot knife through butter, serious artillery!"

"So this wasn't some random shoot down" CJ muttered quietly, "someone was definitely a target, someone with a powerful enemy!" She rubbed her eyes, then ran her hand through her hair as she straightened up and said "sure could use that coffee now!"

Roy looked at Houston, reading the message in his nephews eyes he nodded and stood up. "I'll ah..go see what's keeping Chris!"

Houston watched as his Uncle left the room, discreetly closing the door behind him. Almost as soon as they heard the soft click of the catch, CJ turned into Matts arms and rested her head on his shoulder. He could feel her body shaking as she took calming deep breaths, silently he held her, stroking her hair and softly kissing her. He pushed away from her a fraction, used his thumb to gently wipe away a tear, he bent forward to trace another as it fell from her eye with his lips, then gently kissed her, letting the kiss deepen as he tangled her hair in his hand, pulling her closer, feeling her response, feeling his own response as she brought her hand up to stroke the back of his neck. What had started as a need to comfort threatened to shatter his control, and reluctantly Houston pulled back, bringing both hands up to cup her face he showered a few small kisses on her lips, her cheeks, her closed eyes, then took a deep breath to regain control. He opened his eyes as he heard CJs soft low chuckle, which did nothing to help his struggle. "Whoo Cowboy," she whispered, "you sure know how to take a girls mind of things!"

He laughed as he gave her another quick kiss before settling back on the couch, reaching out to pull her back to rest in the crook of his arms and plant another kiss on the top of her head as she snuggled closer. "Not exactly a bad day at the office!" he smirked as he glanced down, "nope, not bad at all!"

CJ playfully pushed at him as she wriggled closer still, she took a few more calming breaths, but for a much better reason. Her eyes glanced back up at the screen, and the wreckage of the plane she had so nearly died in. Her mind drifted back to the day they had left the small airport, a short flight in a luxury jet, then connect at the main airport for a long flight to Miami, it was all so routine...

"_Miss Parsons?" the young man with the big smile asked as he walked towards her. She nodded as he reached for her hand. "I'm Trent Kayle, your pilot"_

"_Oh, hi! I thought Bill was taking us" CJ studied him a bit more and realised he was older than he had first appeared, boyish good looks and a lot of charm. She liked him. _

"_Got called away on family business, but don't worry, your safe with me"_

_CJ giggled. "I have no doubt!"_

"_The others are all on board, and we're set to take off in 10 minutes so.." he bent down and picked up the two cases that her driver had walked to the side of the plane for her, and with a nod of his head indicated her to board the plane.."Shall we?"_

"_We shall!" She gave him a friendly smile and stepped on board. The plane was air conditioned, welcome on a day like today. Although designed to carry up to 30 passengers this plane had been customised, row seats taken out and replaced with luxurious recliners that turned to face tables. A small bar in the corner for the passengers to help themselves from, and a galley to be used on longer flights. CJ would only be on board for 45 minutes, but already had her eyes on the rows of chilled water displayed in the lit refrigerator . She nodded politely at the middle aged man who glanced up at her from his paper as she passed, and said "howdy" to the young woman who had smiled at CJ as soon as she had boarded the plane. She was grateful that the seat next to her was empty, and placed her briefcase in the small compartment to the side that was used as safe storage during take off, dropping her handbag on the empty seat CJ sighed with relief as she settled into the seat next to the window._

_Just then Trent appeared from the cockpit and announced, Ladies and gentleman if you could please turn your seats around to face front and buckle your seatbelts, we'll be taking off very soon. We haven't got any staff on board today so help yourself to anything you want form the bar and kitchen area, please do not use mobiles whilst we are taking off or landing but feel free once we're airborne, and any questions just pop in and ask me. Hope you enjoy your flight!" And with that he had disappeared back through the doorway. Moments later CJ heard the whine of the engines coming to life, a moment later she could feel the slight vibration as the plane pulled against the brakes waiting to go. CJ was a pilot, she loved to fly, in her mind she was running through all the pre flight checks..a small ritual she found helped calm her..she loved to fly, she hated to be flown. Unless it was Houston, she felt safe with him. Darn it! She sighed to herself as she closed her eyes, yup she'd managed a whole hour without thinking of him or mentioning him, not bad!. She was glad this business trip had come up, thought the distance would help clear her head. She had just missed him more._

_She felt the plane take off and decided against picking up her briefcase and working, instead she picked up the book she had been trying to read whilst at the hotel, anything to distract her from Hous..ooh, no, stop it she thought as she straightened up in her seat and thumbed to the page she had last been on .It was a thriller, based on a TV Detective show she had watched, it was good, but she couldn't concentrate. "I watch that show to!" came a voice from behind her. CJ glanced over and smiled at the young woman she has said howdy to, "I'm Marley Pointer, this hunk a chunk next to me is my husband Marcus", the dark haired guy with the shy smile waved at her before going back to his magazine, "he hates flying, " continued Marley, "so he buries himself in his magazines or papers. I's that what you're doing?"_

_CJ glanced at her book and shook her head. "Oh no, I mean I'm not a fan of flying but I am a fan of reading, just don't get a chance to all that often"_

"_Oooh, is that my cue to shut up and leave you alone" the younger woman asked, her eyes wide_

"_No, oh no, it's fine. Don't get much of a chance to talk to new people either!"_

"_Career woman through and through huh?"_

_CJ nodded. "That's me, but I love my work so it's not so bad"_

"_Doesn't your husband mind all your travelling?"_

"_Not married"_

"_Oh, you surprise me! Boyfriend?"_

_CJ chuckled. "Several, but none of them serious and never at the same time!"_

_Marley gave a little gasp before realising CJ was teasing. "Sorry, I don't mean to pry, it's just your so pretty, so stylish..I just kindda figured you'd have it all you know! Rich husband in the wings, perfect kids getting perfect grades!"_

"_Well I don't have kids but several friends do, so I'm not convinced there is such a thing as perfect! As for the rich husband..does a rich best friend count instead?"_

"_I guess! So, if you're married to your job, what exactly do you do?"_

_The two woman fell in to an easy conversation, CJ telling her new friend about Houston and her partnership with him, ignoring the way the other womans eyes had twinkled knowingly as she heard the way CJs voice softened when she mentioned his name. Marley had told CJ about the belated honeymoon she and Marcus had been on, their scuba diving adventures, the jeep safari. It was relaxed, easy, and CJ had no idea how long they had been travelling when suddenly the world around her exploded. Shards of wood flew up from the table between them, the jug of water Marley had brought over shattered sending splinters of glass in the air, CJ felt a sharp nick and looked at her arm to see several small cuts. "Get down!" she yelled, "get on the floor, cover your faces!" She crouched down then peeked over the arm of the chair to look out of the window. She could see something, a helicopter, yes, definitely a helicopter, it started to pull level to them and CJ saw bolts of white shoot out of the open doorway just before the inside of the cabin exploded again. Another table shattered, bits of stuffing from the empty chair were CJ had been sitting floated down around them, the chair now destroyed, the top of the bar splintered sending shiny mahogany flying out like mini daggers, CJ watched as they embedded into bit of luggage and furniture, the carpet, and the leg of a man who was protecting his screaming wife. _

_The noise stopped and CJ looked out of the window again, watching as the helicopter turned away from them, she was about to say something when all hell broke loose again, this time the chaos came from behind her, not the side. The door to the small bathroom at the back of the plane shattered into pieces, water splashed out as the sink smashed of the wall. CJ started to crawl, heading to the cockpit. Marcus followed her, silently nodding as she led the way. "Trent!" she yelled as she half fell through the doorway, "You ok? What's going on?"_

_She watched him for a second or two, her heart beat racing as she realised Trent was fighting to control the plane. "Don't know," he yelled back, "can't seem to get this baby to respond. There's two of them out there, think they're shooting at us, but don't know why!"_

"_Have you radioed it in?" Marcus asked_

"_No sir, have my hands full right now..radios there if you wanna lend a hand!"_

_Marcus reached forward, just as one of the helicopters flew at them from the side. CJ heard the guns fire this time and ducked, just as the glass in front of her smashed, and sparks flew from the control panel. Marcus was thrown backwards, knocking CJ to the ground. The two of them looked at each other, both acknowledging they were ok before standing up and looking at the damage. "Trent?" CJ gasped when she realised the pilot wasn't moving. "Oh God..TRENT!" Her eyes went wide with fear as she looked out to the horizon, her own experience not needed to know the obvious, the plane was going down. "Quick," she yelled at Marcus", help me move him"_

"_But he's hurt..shouldn't we..."_

"_He's dead! Move him Marcus..now!" she screamed. Nodding as the realisation hit him, they were going to crash, CJ was trying to help. In a show of strength she didn't think he would be capable of from looking at him, he lifted Trent up in one movement, pushing him into the space on the floor behind them. CJ jumped into the seat and quickly tried to control the plane. "Nothing is responding!" she yelled_

"_Can I help, maybe two of us...?"_

_CJ looked at him and shook her head. "There's nothing I can do..."_

_Marcus suddenly pointed,. "Land, there is land..over there..look!"_

_CJ followed his gaze and saw it, she swallowed hard and looked at the controls of the plane. They were losing altitude, the airspeed climbing as the unscheduled dive brought them closer to the sea. Tentatively she tried the rudders again, the engines were still pushing them on but nothing was working, she couldn't slow them down, couldn't climb. She looked again at the speck in the distance, calculations racing through her head. "Well," she said at last, "seems our little friends have left us alone, and we're still flying..maybe we'll get lucky!"_

_Marcus nodded, and went to sit in the co-pilots seat, but CJ stopped him. "Go be with your wife Marcus, she 'll be scared"_

"_But you.."_

"_I'm fine," she told him, saying it with more confidence than she felt, "I'll manage..go on! Get everyone to the back of the plane, try and get padding around you..may help!"_

_He stood and went to leave, stopping and resting a hand on his shoulder, his back to her. "We're not going to make it..are we?"_

_She hesitated, then told him. "I can't slow down...even if we DO make it to land we're gonna keep getting faster as we get lower, can't pull her up, can't turn her, can't ditch her. When we hit, whatever we hit...land or sea..we'll hit hard!"_

"_That's why you want us at the back?" _

"_Take her in nose first, you might stand a better chance, if the tail splits off..better still.."_

"_And you..."_

_CJ turned to wink at him. "Go to your wife Marcus" _

_He had gripped her shoulder tightly and walked back to the cabin. CJ blew her fringe out of her eyes and gripped the controls. "Come on baby, come on" she urged. She closed her eyes to pray, a small sob escaping as all she could see made her whisper" Houston, I love you"_

"I love you Houston" she had whispered, and he smiled down at her, kissing her cheek. She jumped a fraction and he realised she had been deep in thought

" Penny for 'em" he said softly as he looked deep in her eyes, hating to see the pain there

She shook her head a fraction and sat up straight, turning to look at him she took a deep breath to steady herself smiling a fraction as Houston took her hand to encourage and support her. "Roy was right", she began, "I remember now. The two helicopters were both shooting at us, there was a break as one pulled away, I watched it go but then the cabin just got all shot up again." She paused, and took another deep breath, "The pilot was different. I don't remember telling anyone that. Should've been the same pilot that flew me in, Bill Standish, I remember asking why the change when I got there...something about a family emergency.."

"Uh huh," Houston said softly, "well I'll check that out. Can you remember anything else?Aabout the helicopters may, any writing or markings?"

CJ closed her eyes, the scene playing out again in her head. Her eyes flew open as a detail came back to her. "Tinted glass on one of them, the one that came at us first..nothing else I can remember except it was black..but the one that shot out the cockpit wasn't tinted..the pilot, it was a woman. Her hair was in a ponytail, sun was bright so not too clear..could've been dark blonde, light brown..uh, sorry..it's all I can remember!"

Houston hugged her again. "You did good CJ, that's more than you could remember before, maybe some more will come back later!"

"Not real sure I want it to!" she said with a small laugh, a shiver going through her at the same time. She felt him tense and knew he had noticed her shiver, seeking to reassure him that she was ok she quickly kissed him on the cheek and gave him a big smile. She turned as Roy made a show of opening the doors behind them, walking back in carrying a mug and a small plate of cookies. Houston looked at the plate and then looked at Roy, then back at the plate. CJ reached for the cookies first and had one in her mouth as she reached for the mug. She turned back to the door as Chris walked in, surprised as her friend stopped mid track then glared at Roy.

"Cookies!" Chris exclaimed. "Roy!"

CJ raised her eyebrows and looked at them both. "What's up?" She took a big gulp from her mug, her eyes widened as she nearly spat it back. "Urgh, Chris! What brand of coffee you got there!"

Chris smiled as she said smugly, "Chamomile Tea", at the same time she said it she bent down and grabbed the plate out of CJs hands, "to relax you. I'm trying to look out for you here..unlike some people!" She threw a marked stare at Roy before looking back at CJ, "you need to rest so I'm gonna help you down to your room here while Roy and Houston make a start with the enquiries. I'll come wake you in an hour and..."

"Uh uh, nope" CJ interrupted, "I'm fine! I don't need a nap and I DON'T need a babysitter. There are some things I need to look at, I'm a few weeks behind and I hate that. So, you boys go play, and I'll start back to work.."

"But CJ," Roy began..stopping as he saw her face, knowing better, the way her chin was now jutting out it wasn't worth arguing. Her mind was made up, they didn't stand a chance

Houston decided to try. "CJ, honey. Chris is right, you need to rest. Now, how about I take you to bed.."

Chris sniggered, Houston blushed.

"I mean, how about I take you and..."

Again Chris sniggered, even Roy bit back a grin. CJ looked at him, her face sweet, angelic, innocent, her eyes wide and childlike. "Take me Houston?" Suddenly a wicked twinkle appeared in her eyes, mischief played across her expressive face as she winked at him and said, "not in public cowboy"

Houston could feel the tips of his ears burning as the others laughed. "I give up" he muttered. "You win!"

CJ placed her hand under his chin and turned his face to her, kissing him gently before whispering "You're right, I win..cos I got you" . The look they shared had Roy and Chris feeling flustered! She stroked his hair before saying, "now go on..go catch some bad guys! I promise I'll rest, and I'll do as Chris tells me ok? Just a few files, no more cookies..and I'll even try to enjoy this tea!"

He reached out and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, and nodded. "Thanks CJ". He stood and walked towards Roy, looking across at Chris he added, "now you call me if you need anything or if she gives you any trouble!"

Chris nodded as CJ pouted. "Oh, I will!"

The two men both chuckled as they made their way to the elevator, suddenly Houston turned and ran back to CJ, he bent and kissed her cheek.."Love ya slick" he said, before running back to the elevator just as the doors opened.

"Love you to Cowboy!" CJ called as the doors closed.

Houston guided his car out of the underground garage and into the busy traffic. He and Roy were arguing the quickest way to the Pointers house, neither of them noticed the dark sedan parked opposite the garage entrance. The two men in the sedan noticed him though, and watched as he drove down to the main junction, as his car turned right and vanished from view the two men looked at each other before getting out of the car and crossing the street.

CJ was still sitting on the couch, Chris had insisted as she thought it would be comfier than her office chair. The two of them were studying the latest report on the Miami takeover that Chris had handled, and CJ was more than a little impressed. "Keep this up and I'm gonna have to watch out for my job!" she said laughing.

Chris felt herself glow with pride, Houston had already said he was pleased, but praise form CJ, the woman she considered not just her friend but her mentor, yup, that was something else. "Ooh, before I forget," Chris put the file she had been holding back down on to the table and stood up, "there are a ton of messages for you. A lot of welcome homes, mainly from men I may add", she paused as she watched CJ smirk, blush and raise an eyebrow as she tipped her head quickly, "uh huh..yup, thought you'd say that! So, a lot of welcome homes..a lot of Congratulations telegrams from this morning..seems news of you and Houston is already out there...NOT as many men sending them for some reason!" Again CJ smirked and raised an eyebrow. Chris started to walk back to her desk "Want to see all of them, or just a few?"

"Uhm, how many is all of them" CJ asked

"Enough!"

"Ha, well how about we do the welcome homes first...!" She heard Chris laugh as she walked away. She was reading the last line of the open file when she heard the elevator bell ping. She paused, and waited for Chris to come back through and announce the visitors. When nothing happened CJ turned around, and came face to face with the barrel of a gun.

"Do exactly as I say" the man holding the gun hissed, "or your friend gets hurt"

CJ looked passed him, and saw Chris standing by her desk, another man aiming a gun straight at her. She swallowed and automatically brought her hands up in surrender. "Don't hurt her," she pleaded softly, "please, I'll do as you say"

"Move!" the man waggled the gun and watched as CJ stood and hobbled slowly towards the step, making her way slowly towards the door. "I said MOVE!" The man stepped forward and grabbed her arm, half dragging her to the top of the steps

"I can't move any faster" she said half sobbing, "it hurts..please!"

The uncharacteristic sob made Chris look straight at her, and she followed her gaze as CJ raised her eyebrows and indicated with her eyes. In a flash Chris understood, and with a small nod to CJ shifted her position.

Suddenly CJ stumbled, nearly falling against the man who held her. The movement distracted the man who was aiming at Chris, a second was all she needed, she reached down, her fingers took a tight grip, and using the crutch like a baseball bat Chris swung out, connecting with the gun, sending it flying out of his grip, quickly she jabbed, catching him in the solar plexus as he doubled up she played baseball again and connected with the side of his head, hitting it again as he started to fall..giving one last swing as he fell to the floor. The man holding CJ had turned as Chris had started to swing the crutch, it was the only chance CJ needed, bringing her hands together she punched back into his ribcage, hands still clasped together she backhanded into his nose, swung up under his chin...she used her left hand to punch into the crook of his elbow and her right hand to snatch the gun as his reflexes shot upwards. But her balance was poor, her injured leg was about to buckle and as she yelped in pain, barely wrenching away from her assailant, he went to stand up, his eyes blazing..CJ held her breath and braced herself, ready to fight, when suddenly the man shuddered and fell to his knees, CJ heard a soft thump and watched as the man slowly collapsed to the floor, out cold. With her mouth open in shock she glanced up, and saw Chris smiling back at her, "I was top batsman in Little League!" she said by way of explanation, before both of them started laughing with relief.

"Call the police will you," CJ said as her friend and champion walked back to her desk, "oh, and security to. Hmm, may want to get someone to check on Charlie and Pete if these two got passed them! ~Oh, and NOW can I have some coffee?"

Chris nodded, dialled, and watched as CJ walked over to pick up both guns, tucking one into her belt, the other into a drawer out of sight. She could see her wince as she bent down, and her hand was clamped to her side. "You ok?"

CJ flashed her a quick smile and nodded,. As Chris became distracted by the calls she was making CJ turned her back so she wouldn't see her grimace. She glanced at the unconscious assailant, and carefully reached down, checking his pockets for any ID, not surprised to come up empty handed. "Ok," she muttered to herself, "guess this isn't over! Who sent you? And why?"


End file.
